Chapter 28 Jude
JUDE
“Hey, Jude. How are you?” Karina asks as I stare at the bakery case at the Kettle and Kiln. “Can I help you with something?”
“Hey, I’m good,” I tell her. I’d been sure about what I wanted to do when I walked in here but now it feels a little ridiculous. “We found out we’re having a girl.”
“Congratulations.” She beams and I return her smile.
Blackstone Falls had welcomed Karina and her wife, Nicolette, with open arms, the two originally from North Carolina with dreams of opening a place of their own.
They combined their passions—Karina’s for coffee and Nicolette’s for all things pottery.
I’d never been tempted to make anything but maybe Arden would want to. That could be a date, right?
“Thanks, we’re not making a big deal out of it but… I kind of wanted to do something for my brother. It’s just the two of us,” I tell her awkwardly, but her eyes are kind as she slides over toward the case.
“How about you pick a few cupcakes and I’ll whip up some pink frosting to put inside.”
“Thanks, that sounds great.” I fumble over the response and pull out my phone for something to distract me from thinking this was a mistake.
JUDE: I got Deacon a cupcake
ARDEN: Okay…
JUDE: Karina is putting pink frosting in it
ARDEN: YOU’RE DOING A GENDER REVEAL CUPCAKE?
JUDE: A what?
ARDEN: You’re doing a gender reveal for your brother…
JUDE: I guess—I mean—is that stupid?
ARDEN: No it’s adorable and my sister is going to be pissed I didn’t do anything for her
JUDE: Oops
ARDEN: You can make it up to me later
JUDE: Be a lot easier if we moved in together
ARDEN: Not a chance, Country Rhodes—go be the prized sibling
JUDE: Just you wait
ARDEN: I told my dad—he’s excited
JUDE: That’s great—I think he’s going to really enjoy being a grandfather
ARDEN: I hope so
I’d made it a point to stay in contact with Evan Mills. Things had yet to improve with Arden’s mother, and while she and I probably hadn’t gotten off on the right foot, Evan and I seemed to have an understanding.
ARDEN: Can you bring more heartburn medicine back with you? We’re hitting the orange juice hard
JUDE: I’m sorry, that sounds like a job for someone who lives with you
ARDEN: You did not just say that
JUDE: I’ll bring them but it’ll cost you
ARDEN: You’re not moving in because of heartburn meds
JUDE: What about heartburn meds and a cupcake?
ARDEN: No
JUDE: Don’t worry, Tennessee, I’ll think of something…
“I got you a cupcake,” I tell Deacon as I walk into the kitchen, Dez’s paws happily clicking on the hardwood as he comes over to greet me.
“A cupcake?”
“We found out what we’re havin’ and people do this kind of thing. Arden called it a gender reveal, and said her sister is gonna be pissed when she finds out you got a cupcake.”
I watch as my brother digs the heels of his hands into his eyes as I place the box on the counter.
“Dammit,” he mumbles, clearing his throat as he looks at me. “All right, let’s do it.”
Lifting the lid, he picks one of the cupcakes and, without fanfare, takes a massive bite, the dessert practically demolished as he pulls back to look at the remains.
“Well, there was supposed to be frosting in there, but I think you ate it all.”
“No way, it’s pink.” His eyes widen. “It’s pink? It’s a girl?” Excitement laces each word, the sentiment mimicking my own feelings as I nod. “Congratulations, but holy shit, what are we gonna do with a girl?”
He rounds the island and pulls me in for a hug, his arms wrapping around me as I chuckle. “We’re going to spoil the hell out of her.”
Deacon and I never had a lot of family growing up—no cousins or anything like that. It was just us, rough and tumble, especially when the neighbor kids didn’t want to play. It was lonely but we had each other.
My little girl will have it better than we had it.
And she’ll have us wrapped around her little finger before we can blink.
“Have you picked a name?”
“We can’t agree on a first name, but her middle name is going to be Harmony.”
Deacon sucks in a breath, his hand squeezing my shoulder as he bows his head. “That’s a good name. Mom would’ve loved that.”
“I didn’t think I’d need it but Arden insisted.”
“I’m glad she did. How’s she holding up?”
“She’s all right. She’s uncomfortable when she sleeps and pissed with how many times she has to pee, but other than that the pregnancy is movin’ along fine. Her mother is a different story, and so far Arden isn’t budging on us moving in together.”
“I don’t have anything to help with her mom but I do have an idea for the other thing.”
“Moving in with her?”
“Yeah, slide me another cupcake.”
“Done. Now tell me what you’ve got.”